But how did Santa Claus come into the picture? Well, by now most of us know that the jolly round fellow is based on Saint Nicholas, who lived in Turkey in the early fourth century. Many sources agree that Saint Nicholas was the patron saint of almost everything, from maidens to merchants to murderers. In essence, he protected anyone in trouble. But it was his love of children and his kindness and generosity toward those in need that won him his place in history – and where there’s history, there’s myth.
The best known story of Saint Nicholas involves three poverty-stricken young sisters who had suitors but no dowries; therefore, they couldn’t marry. Saint Nicholas, who was a bishop at the time, wanted to help them out anonymously. So as each sister became ready to marry, he dropped a bag of gold down the chimney of their house to be used as a dowry. The young girls’ father wanted to know who was doing these good deeds for his daughters, so as his third daughter prepared to marry, he kept watch until finally he saw the bishop dropping the bag of gold into the house. (Incidentally, the third bag of gold fell into a stocking which hung by the chimney to dry, one basis for the tradition of hanging Christmas stockings.) Word got around about what bishop Nicholas had done and from that point on, when people received unexpected gifts, they gave thanks to bishop Nicholas.
Even a wonderful legend like that of Saint Nicholas’ eventually met its challenge – during the Reformation, when parts of Europe turned Protestant, all saints were removed from the church. But the beloved traditions of St. Nick were continued nonetheless by renaming the generous gift-giver “Christchild” or “Holychild”. Over time Saint Nicholas returned, evolving through many twists and turns into a Santa Claus of one name or another.
Every country that celebrates Christmas has a legend about a Santa Claus figure. In Italy the gift-bearer is a kindly old witch called La Befana; in parts of Russia it’s a grandmotherly figure called Babouschka while elsewhere it’s Grandfather Frost; German children await the arrival of an angelic messenger wearing a crown of candles named Christkind. In Holland St. Nick was known as Sinter Klaas, and it was the arrival of the Dutch in New Amsterdam (later to become New York) during the 17th and 18th centuries that brought the basic story and name of Santa Claus to North America.
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